World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK) is the second World of Warcraft expansion, officially announced on 3rd of August 2007 at BlizzCon. The majority of expansion content takes place in Northrend, and centers around the plans of the Lich King (Arthas/Ner'zhul). Highlights include the increase of the level cap to level 80, introduction of the Death Knight hero class, new Inscription profession, as well as new PvP and world PvP content. No additional playable races are planned, though many new NPC races will be featured.http://www.youtube.com/?v=1Q3W0v098sI There is currently no announced date for its worldwide release. Northrend The expansion introduces a new continent on Azeroth - the harsh, icy Northrend is under the control of the Lich King, and is home to the majority of the expansion's new content. Around 10 or 11 zones are planned for inclusion, with a wide variety or environments, not just ice and snow. To alleviate some of the problems experienced at the launch of the Burning Crusade expansion, players will be able to choose where to enter the continent more freely - both Howling Fjord to the east and the Borean Tundra to the west feature level 68+ content, and it is planned that you can level all the way to 72 without visiting both. The continent is designed to allow players to level from level 68 to 80. Both zones will feature a Hellfire Citadel-style instance hub with multiple dungeon wings for level 70 characters, level 80 characters, and raiders.http://www.mmo-champion.com/index.php?topic=630.0 Flying mounts will also be usable in Northrend, but not until "level 75 or 78" as they want to "keep us grounded and guide us on foot". http://www.xfire.com/blog/blizzcon2007/14820/ It is expected that green items in Northrend will be better than current Tier 4 equipment. Dalaran Azeroth has also been affected by the addition - Dalaran is to move from its previous location in the Alterac Mountains to levitate at great height in the air north of the Dragonblight in Northrend. It will act as the neutral sanctuary city for the continent, similar to Shattrath City in Outland. The Kirin Tor of Dalaran are those responsible for the move, but the exact method is unknown - it is likely to be either by teleportation or transportation. It can be accessed by either foot or flying mount.http://www.wowinsider.com/2007/08/03/liveblogging-the-blizzcon-expansion-demo-panel/ The Forsaken The Forsaken and their Banshee Queen, Sylvanas, have also arrived with a new contagion that they hope will prove to be effective against the undead minions of the Lich King. The Forsaken are seeking vengeance for being subjected to Arthas's magic. They have recently created a settlement in the Howling Fjord. The Lich King It is planned for players to interact with the expansion's main antagonist, the Lich King, several times as they play through WotLK, starting from very soon after arrival on the continent. Dungeons and end-game content The expansion adds group content in a similar fashion to the Burning Crusade, and the 'heroic dungeon' format will be preserved. Many new 5-man, 10-man, and 25-man dungeons will be located in Northrend, including: * Utgarde Keep, an instance in the Howling Fjord filled with the Vrykul, a Viking-like race devoted to serving the Lich King. It was the first dungeon introduced at BlizzCon; the dungeon is comprised of four wings, presumably arranged in a similar fashion to the Hellfire Citadel. The first wing of the dungeon was playable at BlizzCon. * Grizzlemaw, a dungeon involving furbolgs, located in the furlbogs' home of Grizzly Hills. * Azjol-Nerub, the ruined fortress of the Nerubian race of spider-people, featuring an Old God and the Faceless Ones. * An Icecrown Glacier raid dungeon, culminating the expansion with a direct confrontation with the Lich King himself. * Ulduar, a Titan-related dungeon where more history of Azeroth will be unveiled. * A new wing of the Caverns of Time. * Naxxramas may be re-tuned to level 80 and included as a 25-man dungeon at an easy entry-level difficulty. http://www.mmo-gamer.com/?p=218 * The Nexus in Borean Tundra featuring the Blue Dragonflight will be opened. The Red Dragonflight will aid us in it. Speculated instance content * A dungeon featuring the ice trolls of Zul'Drak, although this was never mentioned at Blizzcon. * Riplash Ruins may be a dungeon like Coilfang. * Although only briefly touched upon by Blizzard, based on the inclusion of the Red Dragonflight and Ulduar, it is possible that Grim Batol and Uldum may also be dungeons. Hero Classes The expansion will introduce the long-awaited concept of Hero Classes to World of Warcraft. It is planned that the Death Knight (see below) will be the first of several "unlockable" hero classes, the only one available at launch, though no definite plans have been revealed. Hero classes will generally consist of classes from Warcraft III that were too strong to play from level 1 or could not fit a primary class role. Death Knight World of Warcraft's first hero class, the Death Knight will be accessible to players after completing a high-level quest chain similar in style to the level 60 warlock epic mount chain. Once the quest requirement is satisfied, a player will be able to create a new Death Knight character, which would start at a yet-to-be-determined high level. The Death Knight is a plate-wearing dps/tank class (albeit one that is unable to use a shield) that uses a brand new resource system based primarily on cooldowns. Rather than the existing Mana/Rage/Energy mechanics, the Death Knight will be able to carve Runes into his weapon outside of combat, and then use those runes to power abilities. Blizzard on the official expansion site describes the Death Knight as "master the necromantic powers of the Death Knight". Inscription profession Inscription is a new profession that allows players to augment the power of their spells by increasing damage, reducing cooldowns or adding other effects - for example, adding a knockback to a fireball spell, as well as new kinds of items. Extended character customization Players will also be able to customize their characters using new hairstyles and skin colors, as well as change hairstyles of existing characters. New dances are also being added. PvP additions PvP mechanics will be extended in WotLK, with the addition of a dedicated PvP zone (even on PvE servers) in central Northrend called Lake Wintergrasp. There is no requirement to visit the zone, but the benefit will be an interesting reward affecting the whole region (or continent). The expansion will also introduce siege weapons, destructible buildings and at least one new battleground. The currently planned battleground will have siege vehicles, 15 people in each team, and games will last 30 to 40 minutes. Additions to existing content The expansion will allow characters to level to level 80, adding 10 an additional talent points to their disposal and extending the talent trees further to allow for 51-point talents. Leveling from 70 to 80 should take the same amount of time as 60 to 70. Professions will also be allowed to level to 450 skill points from the Burning Crusade's 375 skillcap, whilst levelling professions from 300-375 will be made easier. Technical Information The expansion is also expected to increase World of Warcraft's graphical detail - for example, a new shading system is being coded for use in ice caves, whilst flame animations are now much more detailed. System requirements have not yet been published, but are expected to be similar to that of the previous expansion. Galleria See also * World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King FAQ * What Wrath of the Lich King is NOT References External links Category:Wrath of the Lich King Wrath of the Lich King Wrath of the Lich King Category:Articles with galleries nl: